US Space Force to launch the next X-37B space plane mystery mission on May 16By Mike Wall 3 days ago

The sixth X-37B flight will carry more experiments than any previous program mission.

The U.S. military's mysterious X-37B space plane is just 10 days away from launching on its next mission.

The X-37B is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 16, kicking off the sixth mission for the robotic vehicle, Space Force and Air Force officials announced today (May 6).

"This important mission will host more experiments than any prior X-37B flight, including two NASA experiments," Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett said today during a webinar hosted by the nonprofit Space Foundation.

One of those NASA payloads will examine the effects of space radiation on seeds, and the other will assess the performance of various materials in the space environment, Barrett explained.

Another experiment, designed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, "transforms solar power into radio-frequency microwave energy, then studies transmitting that energy to Earth," she said.